HRCP calls for immediate release of kidnapped school director, family

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan HRCP has called for the immediate release of ex-director of a Turkish schools in Pakistan, Mesut Kaçmaz, and his family who were abducted in the wee hours of Wednesday.

According to the Nation, HRCP urged Pakistani government to immediately release the Kacmaz family and desist from deporting them; as there are credible reports of other Turkish educationists being arrested upon their arrival in Turkey and their subsequent torture.

Kaçmaz and his family have reportedly been staying in Pakistan for over a year on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) asylum seeker certificate.

They are believed to be abducted over their link to Turkey’s Gülen group, which is accused by the Turkish government of masterminding a coup attemot on July 15, 2016.

Ahead of a visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Pakistan, the Pakistani government on Nov. 15, 2016, had ordered teachers who worked at 23 schools affiliated with the Gülen group in the country to leave Pakistan by Nov. 20.

Ankara had asked Pakistan in August to close down institutions run by Fethullah Gülen, a US-based Turkish cleric accused of masterminding a botched coup attempt in Turkey in July. Gülen, the leader of the Gülen group which runs a network of schools, charity organizations and foundations around the world, have denied any involvement in the coup attempt.

In Pakistan, the Gülen group runs a network of schools and the Rumi Forum, an intellectual and intercultural dialogue platform, in addition to having business interests. Gülen-linked organizations and businesses have been operating in Pakistan for decades.